Middlesbrough vs Lincoln (Eng)Prediction, probable lineups, recent form & season stats

The Riverside opens the season with Middlesbrough against Lincoln, promoted from League One after sixty-five years away from the second tier. The hosts had a decent pre-season: 1-0 over Wrexham, 3-3 with Espanyol and 1-1 at Celtic, with defeats to Huddersfield and Hull. Lincoln arrive from an uneven summer, beating Derby and Doncaster but also shipping five at Grimsby and losing 2-0 to Leyton Orient. The two sides have no recent competitive meetings, so there is no head-to-head record to lean on. The Championship opens at 4.00 goals per game. The prediction may change in the hours before kick-off. Confirmed line-ups, late injuries, suspensions, rotation ahead of other fixtures and the state of the pitch and the weather can all alter the picture described above. In those cases the selection may be reviewed and updated within 12 to 24 hours of the match: this happens rarely, but when it does, the version published on this page is always the current one. The data and assessments here are provided for information and statistical purposes.